Goater's agent to aid Kyle
Mark Georgevic has harboured one wish...to see his beloved Coventry City sign either Shawn Goater or Kyle Lightbourne.
Developments this week suggest that Lightbourne could end up at Highfield Road as Coventry have made an enquiry to Walsall about their top scorer. An offer of 375,000 was turned down recently but Coventry manager Gordon Strachan is reported to be ready to make another bid.
"If Kyle goes to Coventry I'll be a very happy man,'' said Georgevic, who was asked by Lightbourne to act as his agent since the Coventry interest came in about a month ago. Georgevic is also Goater's agent.
Georgevic, who a few years ago worked for a local law firm, is a Coventry shareholder and a season ticket holder.
"I accept entirely that I'm looking through sky blue spectacles, but that's not to say that if Coventry bid for Kyle that I wouldn't seek to act in his best interests,'' he said.
As he did with Goater when Bristol City made an approach last summer, Georgevic has been helping Lightbourne with key decisions. Georgevic feels that if a club does not sign Lightbourne before the March 20 transfer deadline then it could happen in the summer when he is out of a contract.
Lightbourne on the move? "It would be foolish in my view to re-sign for Walsall now because he doesn't know what division they will be in next season,'' said Georgevic. The agent thinks Walsall may have leaked the story of Coventry's interest so as to "test the waters''.
"I'm sure Walsall have put out feelers and are trying to get as much as they can for him,'' said Georgevic. "Kyle will definitely keep his options open and see what's available.'' Walsall have already turned down two approaches by Coventry for their top scorer. On Tuesday, Walsall general manager Paul Taylor said that he did not want to lose Lightbourne but that if the right offer came along they would consider it.
"Kyle had two offers of (improved) terms from Walsall and we've turned them down because we want the flexibility in the summer to weigh up all our options...where is the right club and the right place for Kyle to be,'' said Georgevic.
"He's under contract and Walsall are in a reasonable position for a play-off situation, but I know that Kyle is very ambitious and wants to play at the highest level.'' Georgevic thinks both Lightbourne and fellow Bermudian Goater are quite capable of playing at a higher level in England. He is confident Lightbourne will get a move in the summer when his contract expires while he is also optimistic Goater will go into the First Division with Bristol City.
Since his 175,000 transfer from Rotherham to Bristol City, Goater has become one of the bargains in the lower divisions this season, Georgevic says.
Since the 1993-94 season Goater has scored 80 goals for Rotherham and now Bristol City while Lightbourne has knocked in 76 in the same period.
"Shawn's playing ever so well, I can't stress that highly enough,'' said Georgevic who plans to travel to Walsall on Tuesday night when the two Bermudians meet for the second time this season in a make-up league match.